Apollo and Daphne, Baroque marble sculpture in Galleria Borghese, Rome, Italy
Apollo and Daphne is a sculpture in Carrara marble at the Galleria Borghese in Rome, standing 243 centimeters (96 inches) tall. The two figures seem caught in a spinning motion, with Daphne already taking root and her fingers turning into branches.
Cardinal Scipione Borghese commissioned the work from Gian Lorenzo Bernini, who completed it between 1622 and 1625. The group was created after another sculpture had to be given to Cardinal Ludovisi.
The group shows a moment from Ovid's Metamorphoses in which Daphne transforms into a laurel tree to escape Apollo's grasp. The sculptor captures the instant of transformation so precisely that bark and leaves seem to grow from the nymph's body.
The work stands in room 3 of the Galleria Borghese and can only be viewed with a prebooked time slot. The hall is on the ground floor of the museum and is accessible through a circular route.
Giuliano Finelli, a student of Bernini, worked on the finest details of the bark and leaves. The surface of the marble is polished so thin that light can pass through some areas.
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